"Another said, 'I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say
farewell to those at my home.' Jesus said to him, 'No one who puts his hand
to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.'"
(Luke
9:61, 62, RSV).

Life comes filled with mysteries
at every level. From the workings of subatomic particles, to the very nature
of space and time themselves, there is so much we do not even begin to
understand.

Probably, though, of all things mysterious and hard to fathom, nothing is
more so than the workings of the human heart. People, in an instant, for
reasons that seem so unknowable (perhaps even to themselves), make decisions
that can impact their lives in a dramatic way, for good or bad, for all eternity.
No wonder that Scripture, when talking about the heart, says, "Who can know
it?"
(Jer.
17:9).

This week we will look at some would-be disciples, and the decision of their
hearts.

This Week at a
Glance:

What do the Gospels say about would-be disciples? What lessons may
we learn from their experiences that can inform our discipleship, strengthen
our faith, and deepen our commitment?

*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, January 26.

SUNDAY

January 20

The Scribe

Read
Matthew
8:19, 20 (see also
Luke
9:57, 58). What is the point of this story? What message is here
for us? What principles can we take from it?

Here is a case of someone who, not specifically called by Jesus, volunteered
instead. Notice, too, just how intense his profession was. He would follow
the Lord anywhere. It is easy, even for a true follower of the Lord, to make
all sorts of pronouncements about being faithful
(Luke
22:33); it is not so easy, however, to follow up on them
(vss.
55-61).

When
was the last time you made some bold promise of faithfulness
to God that you later broke? What lesson did you learn from that experience?

What also is interesting about this encounter is that the person
who came to Jesus with that profession was a scribe, one of the educated
elite in Israel. They were men of "culture, education, and station in
life"The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 365. Few scribes
identified with Jesus; they were too upstanding. They followed Him, not to
be influenced by His teaching, but to entrap Him. Yet, here was a scribe
who was touched by Jesus' teaching to the extent that he volunteered to become
a disciple.

Yet Jesus knew the heart, and His response shows that, perhaps, this scribe's
motives were not pure. He may have wanted to join himself to Jesus in hopes
of gaining worldly advantage. Christ's response, however, quickly should
have disabused him of any such notions. In the end, the text does not tell
us what the ultimate choice of this scribe was. From what Jesus said, it
is not hard to imagine the scribe turning away.

How do we understand what was happening with this scribe and with,
for instance, Christ's words in
Mark
10:30? Are we not promised some immediate advantages in following Jesus
now? If so, why is it not wrong to want those advantages? Or is it?

MONDAY

January 21

An Unnamed Disciple

Read
Matthew
8:21, 22. How do you understand what is going on here? Why would Jesus
say something like this to a person who first wanted to bury his own
father?

Yesterday, we viewed a scribe who sought discipleship. Today we encounter
another volunteer, but one who is neither named as an individual or identified
with a specific group. Examining the narrative, one wonders if Jesus was
not unreasonable in His expectations. The man asked to bury his father, and
in the Jewish faith it was a sacred duty to ensure a decent burial for a
parent. What is going on?

Contrary to popular belief, the young man's father was neither dead nor even
at the point of death. It was even possible that he was at the time "enjoying
good health, and the time of his death was indefinitely in the
future."The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 366. If this is
so, why did the man answer the way he did? Was it an excuse, one that Jesus
saw through? Because the dead were usually buried the same day, had his father
actually died there would not have been a problem, because he could have
attended to matters and then returned to discipleship.

This man's response revealed his character. In contrast to the scribe's hastiness
and impulsiveness, he was slow, lethargic, lacking in zeal for the work,
indecisive, and prone to procrastination. He was in fact delaying his
discipleship to the indefinite future because he did not want to make an
immediate commitment. If he did not commit right then, he would perhaps never
commit. The man was, apparently, saying that he could begin discipleship
only when the time was convenient for him. Furthermore, Jesus wanted it known
that because of the limited time He had for ministry and training disciples,
discipleship required undivided attention and full commitment.

Is the Lord calling you to do something (End a relationship? Give
up a habit? Be faithful in tithe? Witness to someone?) that you intend to
do, but not now? What are the dangers of delaying?

Today's lesson covers a colorful character. He did not come either timidly
or under cover. He made a grand entrance. Mark says he ran to Jesus and fell
on his knees before Him. While Mark and Matthew do not name the man, Luke
says he was a ruler and thus perhaps a member of the honored council of the
Jews. Matthew says that he was young. The name, the "rich young ruler," is
a composite description derived from all three accounts.

In Jesus' presence, he immediately began a discussion, seeking, it seems,
to flatter Jesus, who did not fall for the flattery. Instead, Jesus went
right to the heart of his question, pointing the man to the law of God.

Why
would Jesus, Who knew that salvation could not be attained
by works of the law
(Rom.
3:28,
Gal.
2:16), point him toward the law?

In a certain sense, the answer to that question is found in the response
of the young man. Though he kept the law, he sensed that it was not enough.
Something was missing, which is why he asked, "What lack I yet?"
(Matt.
19:20). In other words, though he outwardly, in his actions, seemed
a faithful follower of the Lord, something more was needed. Jesus' words,
and the man's response to those words, showed that his heart was not truly
converted. By pointing him to the commandments, Jesus showed him that true
salvation is manifested in an obedience to the law that involves death to
self. The man's wealth had become an idol to him, and Jesus showed him that,
despite his outward propriety, his treasure was on earth, not in heaven,
and he needed a radical change of heart.

You might be keeping the commandments, at least outwardly, but where
is your treasure? What reasons do you have for justifying your answer?

WEDNESDAY

January 23

Nicodemus

One of the most famous accounts in the New Testament is that of Nicodemus,
who came to Jesus by night and asked the question, "How can these things
be?"
(John
3:9).

How interesting that Jesus would be talking to Nicodemus about the workings
of the Holy Spirit when, in fact, it was obvious from Nicodemus' words and
actions that he himself was being convicted by the Holy Spirit. For him to
come to Jesus, not to try to trap him (as so many of his contemporaries did)
but to learn, shows the sincerity of his heart.

What
can we learn from Christ's words about discipleship
from what He said to Nicodemus?

Jesus' response to Nicodemus not only was tailored to his needs, but, in
John's Gospel, serves to identify suitable and unsuitable characteristics
for discipleship. It says that physical birth and descent from the Jewish
nation are insufficient for authentic discipleship. Discipleship presupposes
a rebirth that unites one with the heavenly realm and opens one up to the
constant working of the Holy Spirit. That Nicodemus misunderstood all this
even further revealed the inadequacy of merely being born a Jew, or being
born into the right family; it also provided an opportunity for further
instruction on the nature of discipleship. Although Nicodemus did not make
an immediate and open response to discipleship, he at times acted as a secret
disciple. At least initially, he was a would-be disciple, because he did
not commit then. As we know, that later changed
(John
19:39).

You might be of right descent; that is, you might be in the right
church, with the right doctrines and teaching. Why, though, is that not enough?
How can we avoid the danger of thinking that membership in the right church,
or even knowledge of true doctrines, is all that we need?

THURSDAY

January 24

Herd Mentality

Salvation, we know, is personal. We are not saved in bunches; we are not
corporately brought into the kingdom of heaven (see
Ezek.
14:20). In the end, we each will have to answer for our own deeds,
not for the deeds of others
(Rom.
14:12).

Nevertheless, most of us do not live in isolation. We are in contact with
other people, and we influence others, just as we are influenced by them.
It is just part of human nature, even unfallen human nature (see
Gen.
3:6), that we influence one another, either for good or for evil.
How unfortunate that, unless we are careful, the influences can be negative.

Read
Luke
4:16-30. What happened here? Why did the people, as a group, act as they
did? What led to the downfall of these would-be disciples?

Though at first they all marveled at His words, once those words became cutting,
they turned, en masse, against Him. Imagine if some would-be disciple there,
instead of succumbing to anger, submitted to the rebuke humbly. Who knows
what his or her influence might have been on the others? Instead, it says
that they all in the synagogue became angry, so angry that they tried to
kill Him. No doubt each one's anger influenced another, and then another,
until the whole synagogue, who had come there to worship the Lord, in a spasm
of anger sought to kill Him instead. Had any one of these people encountered
Jesus' rebuke on a one-to-one basis, they might have been angry, but most
likely they would have walked away. Now, though, feeling the strength of
a mob, they acted in a horrible way.

How easily influenced are you by the crowd, by the prejudices and teachings
of your own society and culture? What practical steps could you take that
could help protect you from the dangers of this herd mentality?

"In this age of diseased piety and perverted principle, those who are converted
in life and practice will reveal a healthy and influential spirituality.
Those who have a knowledge of the truth as it is revealed in God's word must
now come to the front. My brethren, God requires this of you. Every jot of
your influence is now to be used on the right side. All are now to learn
how to stand in defense of truth that is worthy of acceptance."Ellen
G. White, Medical Ministry, p.
22.

"But while Nicodemus had not publicly acknowledged Christ, he had in the
Sanhedrin council repeatedly thwarted the schemes of the priests to destroy
Him. When at last Christ had been lifted up on the cross, Nicodemus remembered
the words that He had spoken to him in the night interview on the Mount of
Olives, 'As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of man be lifted up'
(John
3:14); and he saw in Jesus the world's Redeemer."Ellen G. White,
The Acts of the Apostles, p.
104.

Discussion
Questions:

Has there ever been a time when you got caught up
in a herd mentality, when you went along with the crowd, perhaps in a fit
of emotion, and did something you later regretted? If so, what have you learned
from that experience that could help protect you from doing the same thing
again?

Think more about the point addressed earlier this week regarding the idea
that being part of the true church is not enough. What message is there for
us as Seventh-day Adventists? How are we in danger of falling into that same
trap, that idea that because we believe that we have truth, that is all we
need? In class, talk about how we can protect ourselves from that delusion.

Review the reason that these would-be disciples used to not make
a commitment (with, we know for sure, the exception of Nicodemus). What other
excuses do people use? How can we as a church help those who are struggling
with this momentous decision?

Review the reason that these would-be disciples used to not make
a commitment (with, we know for sure, the exception of Nicodemus). What other
excuses do people use? How can we as a church help those who are struggling
with this momentous decision?

What's the difference between being a "believer" and being a disciple?

I
N S I D E
Story

Crash Course in Faith

by JOHN MAKEUSA

I was a new believer. I boarded a small passenger plane in the Congo to fly
to another city. Halfway to our destination in torrential rain, the navigation
system developed a problem. Then one engine stopped. The pilot descended
to look for a place to land.

I prayed as the pilot struggled to bring the plane down safely. Then the
other engine stopped working. Without power we had no control over the plane.
I prayed earnestly, "Lord, if You have work for me to do, please save us."

We crashed onto the savannah and flipped over, tumbling to a stop. My seatbelt
broke, and I was knocked unconscious. I awoke lying outside the plane. I
had neck and leg injuries and couldn't walk. We saw no one around and had
no idea where to go for help, so we slept fitfully by the plane that night.

The next morning we saw two men paddling a canoe down a nearby river and
shouted at them. Because it was a time of war, the men thought we were military
and took us to the guerilla army headquarters nearby. These soldiers could
have killed us, for we were from "enemy" territory. But God protected us,
and the soldiers fed us and bandaged our wounds.

A week later when we were able to walk, soldiers marched us to their commander,
130 miles (200 kilometers) away. When we arrived four days later, the commander
questioned us. I told him I was an Adventist Christian, not a soldier. He
held us for a month. During this time I shared my faith, and one soldier
asked how to become a Christian. I told him all that I knew and prayed with
him as he accepted Jesus as his Lord. When we were set free, we walked toward
the Tanzanian border to find help.

Soldiers at the border arrested us, thinking we were soldiers. They held
us for more than two months. Throughout our ordeal I shared my faith with
the pilot and other passengers as well as with our captors. We prayed together,
and the other men asked me to pray for them, as well.

When finally we were freed to return home, we had been gone four months.
Everyone thought we were dead. What gladness when we arrived! What rejoicing
when I testified how God had saved us, not once but four times, and helped
me share my faith with strangers. The experience helped me know I can trust
God in everything.